All around, the Flame Temple disciples cheered Bruno Huo on. Lena King grabbed Evan Yang's hand and said, "Let's go find my sister."
"With the crowd blocking us like this, do you really think we can get out?" Evan Yang replied, his expression unchanged.
Lena looked around—everyone had them surrounded, so leaving wasn’t really possible. The Fire Walker sighed and said, "If that's the case, if you can defeat Bruno Huo, I'll take you straight to the palace and let the Palace Lords decide."
"That old guy," Evan Yang muttered to himself. Then Liam Blaze spoke up, "That's right. If you can beat Bruno Huo, you can go to the palace. But if you lose, don't blame us—a life for a life."
"A life for a life? Don’t throw false charges around. I accept the challenge, but that doesn’t mean I admit to murder. If, during this duel, I accidentally injure or kill your so-called Bruno Huo, you’d better not blame me," Evan Yang said coldly.
Lena hadn’t expected Evan Yang to get angry. The reason Evan acted this way was because he couldn’t stand those three—everything was caused by them, and if he didn’t warn them, they’d think he was easy to bully.
The Fire Walker frowned, finding Evan Yang’s demand hard to accept. Liam Blaze didn’t believe Evan had that ability at all, while Bruno Huo laughed, "You’re pretty arrogant. If that’s how you want it, let’s sign a life-and-death contract—no matter who lives or dies, nobody will pursue it further!"
"Even better," Evan Yang said.
Lena hadn’t expected things to escalate so badly and tried to intervene, but Evan Yang refused. The Fire Walker was shocked—this was a big deal: one was from the Flame Temple, one from the Water Temple, and the life or death of either would be major. He didn’t know what to do, but Liam Blaze had been waiting for this moment and said, "Fire Walker, let's settle it like this."
"That's right, stop hesitating," Bruno Huo said.
The Flame Temple crowd shouted with fighting spirit. Facing the noise, the Fire Walker nodded and said, "Alright, since everyone’s here, let’s bear witness—no matter who lives or dies, there will be no further pursuit."
With the Fire Walker’s order, the crowd automatically backed away, leaving a space for Evan Yang and Bruno Huo.
The Fire Walker announced, "This abandoned volcano crater will be the boundary—if you leave its range, it counts as fleeing and conceding."
"Alright," Evan Yang and Bruno Huo said in unison.
The two of them walked to the abandoned volcano crater, while the others watched from the side. The Spirit Monkey and Lena King stayed together; Lena was extremely anxious and didn’t know what to do.
"Miss Lena, what are you afraid of? It’s not even your match," Liam Blaze teased.
"You’re despicable!" Lena King snapped.
"Hey, don’t say that. When have we ever been despicable?" Liam Blaze chuckled.
"You’re just awful!" Lena King yelled.
"Call us what you want. Evan Yang is dead for sure this time. A life-and-death contract? He’s courting death. After he dies, you’ll be the only one left to collect his body," Liam Blaze said.
Lena King glared angrily at Liam Blaze, while Evan Yang and Bruno Huo floated above the abandoned volcano crater.
"I hear your name is Evan Yang, from the Water Temple, right? Today I'll show you what happens to those who kill Flame Temple people," Bruno Huo said.
"I already told you—the death of that person has nothing to do with me. Don't drag your grudge into our duel," Evan Yang replied.
"You dare do it but won't admit it? Such hypocrisy. Watch how I teach you a lesson," Bruno Huo snorted. He rubbed his hands together, and flames erupted.
He shot a fist at Evan Yang with incredible speed and heat. Evan instantly formed several ice walls in front of him, but since the attack came so suddenly, the ice walls only lasted a moment before shattering.
Bruno Huo laughed, "Is that all? Take this!"
Lena King was shocked to see Evan Yang’s strongest ice wall broken. Liam Blaze sneered, "Overestimating yourself."
Evan Yang smiled, "Arrogant as always."
"If I don’t deal with you, I’ll never be able to vent my anger!" Furious at Evan Yang’s attitude, Bruno Huo waved his hand, sending a burst of fire straight at Evan.
Evan Yang waved his hand, and the fire extinguished in midair. Bruno Huo was stunned—his fire wasn’t just an ordinary attack, but Evan had neutralized it easily.